20 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

However, nothing tastes better than raspberries. Nothing!

Especially if they're made into a port.

 

I do that every so often - get a large enough harvest of Black Raspberries from my backyard that I can make a 5-gallon batch of wine with it...use a Port yeast, so it runs about 17% alcohol.

2 hours ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

deer presence

About once a week, I see this "herd" in our neighborhood.  There are no fields of beans or corn for them to eat in a suburban environment, but everyone that has a garden has fencing around it to keep deer, rabbits, and other land-based critters out.  In the winter, they eat fallen bird seed.  I enjoy seeing them.  The second photo I walked my trash bin to the end of the driveway and they all just looked at me.

On 1/16/2023 at 2:32 PM, TnRiver46 said:

330 Conibear is how to catch otter

That thing is a dog killer.  I wouldn't mind if they were banned completely.  My worst nightmare is watching my dog suffocate in one of those things, or have her neck break, while we're hunting.

3 minutes ago, gimruis said:

About once a week, I see this "herd" in our neighborhood.  There are no fields of beans or corn for them to eat in a suburban environment, but everyone that has a garden has fencing around it to keep deer, rabbits, and other land-based critters out.  In the winter, they eat fallen bird seed.  I enjoy seeing them.  The second photo I walked my trash bin to the end of the driveway and they all just looked at me.

That thing is a dog killer.  I wouldn't mind if they were banned completely.  My worst nightmare is watching my dog suffocate in one of those things, or have her neck break, while we're hunting.

That’s why it’s only legal to set them underwater, I’ve never heard of a dog swimming thru one . 
 

Trappers don’t set them where they will catch a dog 

Just now, TnRiver46 said:

That’s why it’s only legal to set them underwater 

Doesn't mean they aren't all used properly or legally.  Every once in a while you hear of one catching a dog because it was set illegally or in a location where it isn't supposed to be.  Honestly, the thought of my dog dying in one just makes my stomach turn.  I'd have PTSD from something like that for a long time if I ever experienced it.

Just now, gimruis said:

Doesn't mean they aren't all used properly or legally.  Every once in a while you hear of one catching a dog because it was set illegally or in a location where it isn't supposed to be.  Honestly, the thought of my dog dying in one just makes my stomach turn.  I'd have PTSD from something like that for a long time if I ever experienced it.

Number one rule with conibear: if there is any chance whatsoever of a non target, don’t set it. Snapping turtle is about the only non target that will swim thru them, and they can also miraculously survive it. 
 

A car kills exponentially more dogs than traps but we all still have to drive. 

8 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

A car kills exponentially more dogs than traps but we all still have to drive. 

I hear ya.  I can control my dog so that she doesn't get hit by a car though.  I can't really control if someone sets a dog killing trap improperly and she ends up in it.  Really the only way to 100% avoid that catastrophe, although very unlikely to happen, is to not take her hunting.

1 minute ago, gimruis said:

I hear ya.  I can control my dog so that she doesn't get hit by a car though.  I can't really control if someone sets a dog killing trap improperly and she ends up in it.  Really the only way to 100% avoid that catastrophe, although very unlikely to happen, is to not take her hunting.

I’ve heard of peoples dog getting shot by hunters (intentionally) many time, never heard of one swimming thru a conibear. 
 

just a little irrational to outlaw the traps that built America when they don’t actually cause much problem. Dogs get loose and get ran over all the time but you can’t ban cars . My dog has dug out of my fence, it’s not a good lump in the throat 

 

laws can’t prevent all tragedy 

Pond Observations 2-21-23

     Warming trend has pond surface temps at 62 deg. Larger size Bluegills have separated from schools and spread out while the smaller fish tend to stay grouped. Bluegills are also starting to eat pelletized fish food albeit slowly, and only when the food softens up for several minutes. There is no urgency in their movements unless startled.

     LMB are roaming either as loners or in small groups of two and three.  They are never still but are always slowly on the move. This tells me that a particular targeted area of water may be bereft of fish at times but since they are always on the move, re-visiting the area later may be of value. They are staying within 10' of the bank.

42 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Warming trend has pond surface temps at 62 deg.

Must be nice! We won't have those water temps here until June! Waters are still in the high 30s here, and with 20* temps this weekend and high northern winds our small waters will chill right back down into the mid 30s. Uhg. I gotta move.

I love the pond reports! 

 

Bob, I once had bluegill and bass in a tank. When I fed the bass minnows, the bass would go berserk and eat, eat, eat. The minnows would be berserk too. Then, SUDDENLY, the bass would be sated and everyone in the tank would stop. I saw this again and again and never understood how the minnows knew that the bass were done eating. 

10 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Must be nice! We won't have those water temps here until June! Waters are still in the high 30s here, and with 20* temps this weekend and high northern winds our small waters will chill right back down into the mid 30s. Uhg. I gotta move.

Well I guess you do fish ponds also but on the same latitude as bob, We can have water temps in the 40s and 50s when it’s 100 degrees outside on some rivers. The water in downtown Knoxville won’t be up in the 60s until may or so either because it’s coming from the bottom of 200 foot deep lakes 

55 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Must be nice! We won't have those water temps here until June! Waters are still in the high 30s here, and with 20* temps this weekend and high northern winds our small waters will chill right back down into the mid 30s. Uhg. I gotta move.

You're welcome to join us down here but when you go back home in the summer to visit, I'm going too!

46 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I love the pond reports! 

 

Bob, I once had bluegill and bass in a tank. When I fed the bass minnows, the bass would go berserk and eat, eat, eat. The minnows would be berserk too. Then, SUDDENLY, the bass would be sated and everyone in the tank would stop. I saw this again and again and never understood how the minnows knew that the bass were done eating. 

That knowledge would help us almost as much as it helps the minnows! If we knew what triggered, and what satisfied, then we would be closer to our goals.......not really...I still wouldn't be satisfied. Always want one more Bass.

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Well I guess you do fish ponds also but on the same latitude as bob,

I thought TN was a smidge south of NY?

 

Most of my spots are on the south shore close to the salt. They were man-made mill ponds from back in the olden days. There are a ton of them running down the island. All are quite shallow and rarely deeper than 6-7 feet at the very center where the original stream bed lies. Their average depth is more like 2-4 feet. There may be oddball deeper holes that were excavated for fill during the original builds to build up surrounding roadways.

 

While the pads will start budding on the bottom very soon, the weeds will lag behind by months. Until they're established enough to provide a scaffolding to hold heat, usually sometime in June, cold fronts and high winds will have the water temps yo-yo-ing like crazy.

 

This is what's common here. It's 18 acres. The dam is at the south end of the larger eastern section. As in the rest of my county, no floating devices allowed, so I wade them.

 

19 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

You're welcome to join us down here but when you go back home in the summer to visit, I'm going too!

If you don't mind stagnating heat and salt marsh mosquitoes so big they have landing gear, I'd be happy to have you.

10 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

I thought TN was a smidge south of NY?

 

Most of my spots are on the south shore close to the salt that were man-made mill ponds from back in the olden days. There are a ton of them running down the island. All are quite shallow and rarely deeper than 6-7 feet at the very center where the original stream bed lies. Their average depth is more like 2-4 feet. There may be oddball deeper holes that were excavated for fill during the original builds to build up surrounding roadways.

 

While the pads will start budding on the bottom very soon, the weeds will lag behind by months. Until they're established enough to provide a scaffolding to hold heat, usually sometime in June, cold fronts and high winds will have the water temps yo-yo-ing like crazy.

 

This is what's common here. It's 18 acres. The dam is at the south end of the larger eastern section. As in the rest of my county, no floating devices allowed, so I wade them.

 

If you don't mind stagnating heat and salt marsh mosquitoes so big they have landing gear, I'd be happy to have you.

Yeah that little body of water would already be boiling if it was near my house, we don’t have many ponds and 99% of them are private for cows or golf courses 

2 hours ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Pond Observations 2-21-23

     Warming trend has pond surface temps at 62 deg. Larger size Bluegills have separated from schools and spread out while the smaller fish tend to stay grouped. Bluegills are also starting to eat pelletized fish food albeit slowly, and only when the food softens up for several minutes. There is no urgency in their movements unless startled.

     LMB are roaming either as loners or in small groups of two and three.  They are never still but are always slowly on the move. This tells me that a particular targeted area of water may be bereft of fish at times but since they are always on the move, re-visiting the area later may be of value. They are staying within 10' of the bank.

I saved this image for you when I saw it.....first thought was "Bob is gonna blow a gasket over it" ?

1 minute ago, TnRiver46 said:

eah that little body of water would already be boiling if it was near my house, we don’t have much like that 

At the peak of the endless heat wave last August, that spot was down 2 feet during the drought. Water ceased flowing over the dam there. Just a stagnated, stinking mess of rotting plant life.

2 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I saved this image

A dog with hands. Terrifying!

18 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

I thought TN was a smidge south of NY?

 

Most of my spots are on the south shore close to the salt. They were man-made mill ponds from back in the olden days. There are a ton of them running down the island. All are quite shallow and rarely deeper than 6-7 feet at the very center where the original stream bed lies. Their average depth is more like 2-4 feet. There may be oddball deeper holes that were excavated for fill during the original builds to build up surrounding roadways.

 

While the pads will start budding on the bottom very soon, the weeds will lag behind by months. Until they're established enough to provide a scaffolding to hold heat, usually sometime in June, cold fronts and high winds will have the water temps yo-yo-ing like crazy.

 

This is what's common here. It's 18 acres. The dam is at the south end of the larger eastern section. As in the rest of my county, no floating devices allowed, so I wade them.

 

If you don't mind stagnating heat and salt marsh mosquitoes so big they have landing gear, I'd be happy to have you.

18 Acres is a lake to me. Great job on the map! I love wading! Grew up doing it all summer in the swamps. Hate to hear about your mosquitos. I bet you dunk down when they get unbearable. Ours had navigation lights to go along with the gear back home so I know what you mean. Its not bad in middle Tennessee. They're angry but they're not lethal.

13 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I saved this image for you when I saw it.....first thought was "Bob is gonna blow a gasket over it" ?

Thanks Alex! Gasket blown! I have not seen Maggie, my 5.3 LMB in weeks. I am terrified of what may have happened.

3 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

18 Acres is a lake to me. Great job on the map! I love wading! Grew up doing it all summer in the swamps. Hate to hear about your mosquitos. I bet you dunk down when they get unbearable. Ours had navigation lights to go along with the gear back home so I know what you mean. Its not bad in middle Tennessee. They're angry but they're not lethal.

Thanks Alex! Gasket blown! I have not seen Maggie, my 5.3 LMB in weeks. I am terrified of what may have happened.

She'll turn up friend, and if she doesn't that would be my line in the sand.   

16 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

At the peak of the endless heat wave last August, that spot was down 2 feet during the drought. Water ceased flowing over the dam there. Just a stagnated, stinking mess of rotting plant life.

A dog with hands. Terrifying!

Yeah that's the first time I thought this is a terrifying animal.

If y’all haven’t seen snoop dog narrating the video of otters going after an alligator, you need to 

4 hours ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Hate to hear about your mosquitos. I bet you dunk down when they get unbearable.

They chug deet before they bite here. Nothing will stop them except thick clothing. I need to wear a heavy fleece sweat jacket and wool skull cap at the height of the summer heat in order to save myself. They'll sting right through a ball cap. I left with lumps on my head before I threw in the towel and tried the beanie. Even after spraying my gloves, I leave with swollen hands form the bites. Sometimes it's simply too much. This is me in August. Eh, a nice shvitz is good for one's health.

Phish, I LOVE wade fishing. It's my favorite way to fish. I once waded the north shore of Lake Michigan for smallmouth. The water was so high that it slopped over the tops of my waders. When the smallmouth jumped, they were over my head. If, at the end of my life, I am given one moment to relive, it might be that evening. 

 

Phish, does Permethrin also not work?

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Phish, does Permethrin also not work?

Nope!

Dang! Those Long Island mosquitoes are vampires. They can't be killed because they're the undead. 

17 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Phish, I LOVE wade fishing. It's my favorite way to fish.

Me too. Lake/pond wading at night is sketchy sometimes, but I always find the safe routes during daytime wades. There are several places where we can get out 300 feet from the bank, but only several feet in others.

 

14 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Dang! Those Long Island mosquitoes are vampires. They can't be killed because they're the undead. 

 I've had some dudes from out east come to wade with me in my spots during summer. I've warned them all to bring heavy clothing or else, yet some resisted offering one reason or another.

 

Me: Trust me on this one. They're evil.

 

Them: I'll spray myself.

Me: Okie doke.

 

Them: I wore a long sleeve shirt.

Me: Alrighty then.

 

Them: I've been fishing for 30 years. I'll be fine.

Me: You da man.

 

Them: Mosquitoes don't like me.

Me: Uh huh...

 

Each one got ravaged and had to tap out way early. It was impossible not laughing during my told-you-so. Like this is something I'd make up? I enjoy sweating like an animal through my clothes? One guy even came back the next year and forgot his armour. I wondered how he could forget. He had welts everywhere the last time he came.

You're a funny storyteller, Phish. Thanks for the laugh!